Crash and Burn
by x. Gimme more
Summary: I can mend your broken heart.


**Title:** Crash and Burn  
**Characters/Pairings:** Shigeru/Kasumi  
**Length:** 1476 words  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Warnings:** None this time.  
**Summary:** I can mend your broken heart.

Her world had felt as though it had crumbled.

Without warning to those around her, she paced thoughtfully around the corridor of the Gym. Her emerald eyes were fixated on the carpet below and she gave several signs that it was not a time for her to be joked around with. Suddenly, a loud cry escaped her cracked lips and a flurry of fire red locks bloomed from her ponytail as she roughly ripped it out. The white elastic found it's way to the floor and she quickly bolted from her place, abandoning all cause as she strode past her sisters in an attempt to find a quite, subtle place for her to properly think.

The events from hours ago replayed over and over in her fuzzy mind.

--

"Yawa Kasumi speaking."

Earlier she had been eccentric, awaiting a phone call from Satoshi. Even though he was off chatting away with Mikuri somewhere, due to the fact that the League was in desperate trouble for something or other, she had always planted herself on her fluffy mattress, awaiting his calls like she did every day. They had died down lately and even though she had some sort of suspicion, she kept it hidden as best she could when he would give her a ring, exasperating on how things were just so chaotic and how he would not be able to return until a week or two later.

The phone call had been different, though.

_Haruka's been keeping me company.. Kasumi, before I knew it we were spending so much time together and -- well, I guess we did something last night that I just can't ke--_

When he had spoke, his once warm and soft-laced tone had vanished and was replaced by something so much more stern. Her heart had felt as though it dropped to the bottom of her stomach and she sputtered out something or other, quickly making an excuse as she slammed the phone down without so much as another thought.

"Satoshi… you and... and H-Haruka..?!"

--

She wiped her eyes furiously, attempting to rid herself of the tears that already found themselves cascading down her pink tinted cheeks. It had took her a good hour to realize that this was not one of Satoshi's jokes and he would not call back, laughing his head off as he would explain to her that Takeshi had dared him to do so for old times sake, like how they had tricked her when Satoshi an her had first began dating a few months back. It had took her a good hour to realize that Satoshi, _her_ Satoshi had been stolen away by some devil woman named Haruka.

Although, Kasumi knew that was absolutely false.

Haruka was a jewel, which had probably been why it had stung her so hard. She had only met Haruka a handful of times, but she knew that the young girl had been trying desperately to take good care of Satoshi while Kasumi had been reluctantly called back to the Gym for duties that others just wouldn't be able to handle without her. What had cut her so deep though, was just that in some bizarre way, she felt like it had been coming. It had been coming and she just dismissed it as a paranoia of Satoshi being around a girl other then herself.

That nightmare had become a reality.

Kasumi paused at a crossing, eyes glazed over with tears and it's usual warm playfulness withered off into an endless sea of nothingness. The light changed and automatically, the auburn locked girl stepped foreword . . . --

"Whoa!" a strong, slightly calloused hand took hold of her shoulder, "Are you trying to kill yourself?"

_A nice though, but I don't think so._ Her mind cleared of it's fogginess and quickly, jade eyes locked with amber ones. For a moment, she was taken a back before his features became crystal clear through the midst of her tears. A confused look crept it's way onto him as he peered into her delicate face and he released his hold from her.

"S-Shigeru!"

--

"Thirsty?"

Hesitantly, she glanced up before nodding and taking the refreshment gently from his hands. Before Kasumi had realized what was happening, she found herself picking at her nails on one of the park benches. And before she had realized anything, Shigeru had token the liberty of purchasing her something to drink and lightly egging her on to explain why she had been so zoned out in their earlier interaction. He plopped down beside her, running a hand through chestnut spikes as she took a quick sip of the cool beverage, relishing how it slid nicely down her dry throat.

"Thanks," she spoke softly, wiping the leftover droplets from her mouth, "I really needed something to drink."

An eyebrow raised in his defense and he took a swish of his own beverage.

"Mind telling me why you almost ran into on-coming traffic, Kasumi?"

Since Satoshi's departure to the League off into the distant lands, Kasumi had found herself spending time around the Ookido residence, delivering information to them about something or other from the next Pocket Monster Master. The reason she had sent word to them was that Ash said Professor Ookido held him up with 'questions my mother would ask'. After all, having his mother hang around the Professor had her evidently rubbing off on the old man. Due to her weekly visits, she had often stumbled upon Shigeru loafing around the estate. Soon enough the two had become on a first-name basis and despite the sparks that often flew, they enjoyed each others company rather than the Professor's.

"Well, t-that is… uh," she choked out, mentally hissing at herself for the sudden crack in her voice, "I-I was talking to Satoshi and he-he.."

"What? Did he propose to you or something and you just can't believe it?"

She could of sworn her heart broke into two.

"…No!" she lashed out at him without thinking, "That stupid idiot went and slept with Haruka! _Haruka!_ Just because she's there and _I'm_ not. Because Satoshi can't dare spare a moment of his precious time to come and visit _me_. He can spend various occasions with _her,_ but not with me! He can spend a whole night crying her name, but he just won't stop by once in a while to visit me. To hold me! To kiss me!"

The smug look was quickly wiped from Shigeru's face and in it's place came a cold, hardening one. Her breakdown had not been directed at him and he knew that. Though, he couldn't help but feel his heart strings being tugged as she buried her delicate face into her hands, weeping like the little girl he often teased her of being. To be honest, the whole thing startled him at first. He had been used to Kasumi's constant nagging on how Satoshi wouldn't come visit her. It often came up in their conversations, after all. What he just couldn't process in his mind was her _crying_. Her bawling into her hands as though she was experiencing tears for the very first time.

"K-Kasumi," he quickly recovered, wrapping an arm around her shaking shoulders protectively, "Kasumi, calm down. Shh, it's alright."

When his warmth took hold of her, she quickly realized whom she had snapped on. Without so much as a second thought, she buried her face into his broad shoulder that she had silently thought in the back of her mind, cradled her head quite well. This was Shigeru, though. He wasn't suppose to be good at comforting women. He was suppose to be perverted, cold in some cases and egotistic to the point where she could really slap him upside the head.

"Oh, Kasumi," his voice was soft, tender and like silk to her ears, "Shh, calm down. It's going to be fine, I promise. Don't cry, don't cry."

She averted her eyes to him, crystal tears leaking onto the hand that quickly found it's way to her cheek, caressing it gently as she hiccupped, attempting to stop the sobs. He gave a slight nod and signature grin, pumping out his chest slightly as he gingerly kissed the top of her forehead. As quickly as he had done the action he rose, taking her petite hand in his own and tugging her off into the distance.

"Let's get the Kasumi I know back," he whispered as he bolted down the street with her by his side, "After that, I'll make sure to kick Satoshi's ass very, very badly."

A smirk broke out on his face as he planned the beatings for his rivial.

"ACK! Shigeru! S-Slow down!"


End file.
